Book of Friends (CLOSED RP)

[Saint Anne]

--Winter in Oshu-Iwate, Japan 2015--


Ayumi sighed as she let her knees give out, using her back to slowly drop to the floor of the cave. She winced, pressing a hand to her side, willing the stitch to go away. She'd run for too long in the winter cold, resulting in the troublesome cramp in her side.

"The foot steps end at the mouth of the cave!" a mans voice called in the distance, echoing through the rocky walls.

"I'm not going in." A woman scoffed. "He'll have to come out sooner or later."

Ayumi frowned, doing her best to keep her heavy breathing quiet as she listened intently.

The mans voice growled. "She'll have to come back down the mountain soon enough... Let's wait by the overpass."

Finally, after a good fifteen minute wait, the blond sighed heavily. "Thank goodness..." She murmured, dragging her bag into her lap. She shuffled through it for a moment before pulling out her phone, using it as a flashlight. The cave was shallow enough, with a small stone shrine built against the carved out wall. "So that must be why they didn't follow me inside." She mused quietly to herself.

Once more she dug through her bag, pulling out a chocolate bar. If the shrine was what kept those demons away, by all means, she would leave an offering. "Sorry I don't have more..." She muttered, placing the gift down. She said a quick prayer and stood up, wincing as she put too much weight on her sprained ankle. Cold mud caked the side of her legs, plastering her nylons to her skin and leaving her shivering in the winter air.

How did she get herself into this sort of mess...?

Ayumi Hatsumi. The name never did seem to suit the strange girl. Her whole life she had people asking her if she was a foreigner, or if her parents were. Still, it wasn't annoying to explain that she was actually born Japanese. It gave her something to talk about at the very least. Something other then the oddities that seemed to always find their way into her life.

Ghosts, sprites, demons-- the works. Ever since she could remember, strange people had haunted her. Shadows that didn't quite look human. Figures with feather, fur or scales that weren't quite animal. Weird, shapeless masses that carried a putrid stench and that walked through walls or fell through ceilings.

Things no one else could see. Things even more seemed unwilling to believe...

".... Aunt Emiko isn't going to be happy..." She frowned, examining her stained uniform. She'd cut her arm and torn the skirt when she fell from her bike, having tried to out run the odd couple chasing her. A man with no hair and a head too large for his body-- and a woman with purple skin and horns. The same odd couple, who thankfully, warned her exactly where they would be waiting for her. "If I avoid the over pass, it'll take me at least an extra hour to get home."

Even if her aunt was cross, it didn't much matter... She was to move again on Monday-- into a cousin's house. He and his wife had agreed to take her in so she could finish her schooling at a prestigious high school. He was the principal and some how Ayumi had managed to pass the entrance exam with flying colors. As far as she was concerned, the move couldn't happen fast enough...

With a slight grunt of effort she managed to swing the overstuffed bag onto her back once more, rubbing her arms to stave off the cold. For now, she would just have to leave the bike in the woods where it fell. She would have to just follow the river home instead of the road.

With that thought in mind, she turned off the flashlight on her phone, stepping towards the caves entrance. If she hurried, she might still make it home in time to get some studying done--

Her train of though came crashing down as she tripped. Letting out a startled cry, she fell, breaking a rope that had been tied low to the ground across the cave. "Ow..." she swore, rubbing her chin as she pushed herself back up, examining the dry-rotted rope. "What's this doing here--?" She frowned, eying the little bits of white paper interwoven into the frayed strand.

Spoiler

Ayumi:

Ayumu:

Ayumi Hatsumi is the girl, the current character. Ayumu is her grandfather. ^_^ Sound good?

 

[Nami Hashimoto]

(Sorry for the delay >.<)

A thick fog of mist surrounded the area as the rope began to unravel itself. Moving swiftly across ground like a snake surrounding it's prey. Then came the sound of almost a hundred bells, it's sound reverberating across the forest, slicing through the fog. The wind howled loudly as it rushed through trees and bushes. The sound so animal and wild that the small creatures had to hide inside their burrows, backs pressed against each other as the wind continued still.

A groan rumbles the cave.

"Who goes there? What fool has dared step foot into my cave?"

Then came the soft pitter patter of feet and a rhythmic breathing. Large claws scrape against the stone walls, serving as some sort of warning signal for whoever has stepped into the cave. A tall figure emits from within the fog and it's lips quickly spread into a wide toothed grin beneath his cover.

"Oh? Why, I couldn't possibly fathom what a weakling such as you would want from the great Kaze." Kaze runs a claw through his silvery white tresses, his emerald orbs set on Ayumi's sprawled out form. He sniffs the air for a moment then bends down to the teenager's line of sight. He grabs her chin and jerks it to one side, his soft gaze turning into a glare.

"You smell like someone I know...And I don't like it one bit." He growls.

A picture of Kaze xD

 

[Saint Anne]

Oh... Lovely.

Ayumi frowned as the sarcastic thought crossed her mind. Now she'd done it. She'd woken something up. Something big... The sounds of someting scraping against the wall of the cave sent a shiver up her spine like nails on a chalk board.

She froze, seeing the tall demon step out of the fog, illuminated by an ambient light. For a moment she found herself curious-- though it was a fleeting instant. "You're mistaken, I don't want anything. In fact, I was just--" She tensed up as he knelt down and grabbed her chin.

He jerked her head to the side, examining her under such a critical gaze it nearly burnt. She frowned, indignation rising up in her chest as she balled one hand into a fist. She took a swing without thinking about it, her fist connecting solidly against the side of the mans face, knocking him away from her. "And I don't like being man-handeled!" She declared, counting his claim of not liking the way she smelled.

She paused, realizing her apparent mistake at striking the demon and quickly clambered to her feet, darting out of the cave.

[He's so cute! XD]

 

[Nami Hashimoto]

Kaze stumbles backward as Ayumi's fist connects to his cheek.

'Kid's got some spunk.' He thinks gravely. There was just a handful of humans who had enough spiritual energy to see spirits like him, and to spirits it meant either good fortune or bad luck. Kaze greatly doubts the latter. He follows her out of the cave as swift as his name suggests. He catches up to her with little effort.

"Aw, is the little kitten going to run away from the bad dog?"

[Thanks xD I was really happy when I won him in the raffle ;u;]

 

[Saint Anne]

Ayumi winced, stepping hard on her ankle as she tried to distance herself from the silver haired man. It rolled again, sending a shooting pain up her leg. "Ow--" She placed a hand against a tree trunk to balance herself, trying to keep pressure off her foot. "Don't follow me." She demanded. She seemed more in a hurry then actually afraid. "You said your name is Kaze? Then make like the wind and blow somewhere else!"

She shifted the shoulder strap of her backpack, glaring at him like a fox who'd been cornered. Covered in mud and frost, it was clear the blond had had a rough day.

"I heard him! He's over this way!~ Ayumu Hatsumi is this way!!"

Ayami blanched slightly, recognizing the voice of one of the demons who chased her earlier. Sparing one more glance to the strange man, she sprinted off again, stumbling slightly as she went. "Just leave me alone!"

 

[Nami Hashimoto]

"You can't even stand upright much less walk. And for your information, I can do more than just travel fast." Kaze rolled his eyes at the female, then to the direction of the strange voices. He groans loudly before trudging his way into the snow to follow her, she was intriguing after all. There was something familiar about her scent but he couldn't quite tell what. A pair of demons jumped out of the bushes and he spares them no second thought, he brings his mighty tail up and swishes it against their weaker bodies. It was evident who the greater spirit was.

"She's my prey. Understood?"

 

[Saint Anne]

"Oh no-- Kaze!! He's awakened!! Run!"

"Hatsumi plans to kill us all by commanding the power of the wind!"

The two demons cried out in terror before scampering away.

It left the blond in stunned silence-- snow flurries once more beginning to fall from the sky. This man had chased them off... And not to protect her-- he'd called her his pray... It took a few extra moments for her mind to catch up. "You're both crazy! I don't command anything!!!" She called after the retreating demons, huffing as they vanished into the snowy wilderness.

She frowned, lowering her hands from her mouth as she once more looked to Kaze. She hesitated to thank him, not sure what he would do next.

 

[Nami Hashimoto]

"You try to sound all tough but I can see that you're having trouble with those puny demons. You're not fooling anybody missy." Kaze says smugly, his ears twitching a bit from the cold. He approaches her with easy and silent footsteps so as not to scare her away. The snow crunched beneath his feet and his tail swished about.

"How about this? I'm offering you a deal. I'll give you the protection you need against those demons who seek your power. But in return, you're going to have to give me your name. And yes, you've heard me right, all I need is your name."

 

[Saint Anne]

Ayami frowned, eying the dragon man skeptically. "I'm Ayami Hatsumi." She said after a moment, suspicious as to why he wanted her name. She gave him her name less because she wanted his protection and more so he would, hopefully, leave her alone. "Why would you need to know that?" She frowned. More importantly, he had said the demons had chased her because they wanted her power.

It was an odd thought, as she had no powers that she knew of-- save for being able to see them... "Those Yokai chased me down because they mistook me for my grandfather, not because I have anything they want. He must have upset them some how during his life."

The sun was starting to set over the mountain top. If she was still in the woods by the time the moon came up, all sorts of nasties would come after her-- not to mention what little heat the sun did provide would be gone.

 

[Nami Hashimoto]

"Why? No reason at all. It would be tiring and completely redundant to keep referring to you as 'the human', 'hey', 'you'. You get my point." He murmurs then stifles a yawn. The cold always made him feel sleepy.

"Well you certainly do look normal, there's nothing really striking about you." Kaze teases. "Do you know that a human with the ability to see us would make for a tasty dinner? I have met a handful of your kind but you're the first to not cower in front of me." He ponders over her last name for more than a few moments before cracking a small laugh.

"No wonder you smell familiar. If I'm not mistaken, your grandfather is Ayumu Hatsumi correct?"

 

[Saint Anne]

"So I've heard..." She muttered in response to the comment about her being a potentially good meal. "I'm almost used to all of this insanity by now." She sighed, once more beginning to walk in the snow.

When the strange lizard-man laughed, and named her grandfather, she paused, looking back at him with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah, that's right. I'm named after him.... Did you know him, or something?" She asked, once more starting to walk. She sneezed and pulled her scarf tighter around her. "I shouldn't be seen talking to myself, you know... People will say things."

 

[Nami Hashimoto]

"Well maybe if you didn't clumsily trip into the cave then I wouldn't be here talking to you. Mind you, I chased those weaklings away from you and I don't even get a thank you? I thought humans were supposed to be particular about their manners, or did I hear it wrong from your grandfather?" Kaze states, skipping in a zig-zag kind of pattern behind Ayumi.

"Does this happen often? You being chased by demons I mean."

 

[Saint Anne]

"And being followed by them..." She confirmed, adding in a slightly underhanded hint that she was annoyed. "And sorry if I'm a little hesitant to thank you when you called me your prey." She added, still trudging on. She found herself suddenly rather envious at how easy he made moving through the snow look. "Besides, I tripped on my way out of the cave."

She glanced back at Kaze before unwrapping her scarf from around her neck. "Here..." She passed it to him. "Lizards don't like the cold, right? Put that on before you get sick or something..."

 

[Nami Hashimoto]

"Next time you should probably look twice at where you're going. You might accidentally trip into another spirit's shrine and excuse me? I am not a lizard." Kaze grumbles and pushes the scarf back to the teen, rolling his eyes lightly. "You'll be needing it more than I do, stupid. Your puny human body won't be able to withstand cold as much as I can." He pulls her swiftly against his chest, smirking lightly as he did so. "I suggest you hold on tight if you don't want to fall off." And that was his only warning before he took off, heading for the forest's exit at a dangerous speed.

 

[Saint Anne]

She blinked, haphazardly catching the scarf before it hit the ground. She frowned, wrapping it up in her hands. "Could have fooled me..." she muttered, eying his tail. She gasped slightly when he grabbed her, pulling her close. "H-hey! What's the big idea?" She blushed.

Was he going to try something? Or spirit her away?

Wait... Hold on?

"Uh--"

He'd barely given her time to react when he took off, moving at break neck speeds. A startled cry broke out of the blond girls mouth, her arms wrapping around Kaze's neck and clinging tightly. She hid her face as tree branches brushed past them, grabbing like greedy little hands. "Stop!" She cried. "Put me down! Hey--!" She frowned, finding he was either ignoring her or her voice was simply being carried away on the wind too quickly for him to hear.

So, she did the only thing she could think to do. She slapped him, just as the broke the edge of the woods.

 

[Nami Hashimoto]

Kaze was actually enjoying teasing the human teenager. Given that this was his first time to be able to use his powers once again after a long long time it actually felt refreshing. Feeling the way the wind rushed through his hair provided even more adrenaline, to the point that he could feel the excitement rushing through his veins. But at the sharp slap of her hand against his cheek they both plopped onto the ground. Luckily Kaze managed to catch his footing and he pulled the blonde before she toppled onto the street.

"Sheesh! Do you always hit other people?" He grumbles.

 

[Saint Anne]

"Only when they grab me!" Ayumi frowned. She was shaking from head to toe. How much of it was due to the cold verses adrenaline was hard to tell. She climbed to her feet and dusted herself off, her expression not furious like he might have expected, but rather troubled. "Just-- leave me alone!" She grabbed her bag, running off.

She ran without looking back, all the way to the small house of her Aunt and Uncle. Outside the lights were on-- a woman sitting on the stoop with a space heater beside her, bundled up with a mug of coffee in her hands. "Ayumi-- there you are!" She boomed, standing up when she spotted the blond. "What happened--Where's your bike? Did you wreck it? You're filthy!" She declared, setting the mug aside.

Ayumi glanced around, not sure if she had actually managed to outrun the odd dragon-man. "I-- sorry, Aunt Emiko." She said quietly.

The woman scowled. "Get inside, before we have a hospital bill on our hands. And have your cousin buy you a new bike when you move in with him tomorrow-- I'm not replacing the one you apparently lost."

Ayumi sighed, turning her blue eyes down as he breath floated up on the winter breeze. "Yes, ma'am." She murmured, wincing as the front door slammed shut, her aunt going inside ahead of her. For a moment longer, Ayumi stayed in the walkway, the snow clinging to her hair. Her grip tightened on the handle of her bag until her knuckled turned white, sighing once more before slowly making her way to the front door.

 

[Nami Hashimoto]

Kaze rubbed his sore cheek and said nothing else. Humans have always been confusing as far as he knew. They're like little balls of emotion that just clashes with one another by nature in his opinion. He has spent more than half of his life watching over these annoying humans but still he couldn't completely grasp the concept of human emotion. Kaze watches her move on, her hair coated with snow.

"But if she's his grandson then there it is likely that she has it as well." Kaze mutters, brushing off the snow that had clung to his shirt before jumping up a tree. Climbing it with ease as he skipped from branch to branch.

"Interesting." He mumbles to himself, his eyes set on Ayumi's form as she walked down the road and into her house.

[lol I made Kaze sound like a stalker xD]

 

[Saint Anne]

Ayumi closed the door behind her, slipping her shoes off with a frown.

"You really made her angry this time." her younger cousin snarked, grinning before hurrying off. "I get the whole upstairs again~!" He cheered as he ran off, laughing.

Ayumi frowned, shifting her bag as she pulled the torn, half frozen nylons off her feet.

"Here." Her uncle tossed her a towel. "Don't track in foot prints."

"Yessir." She nodded, drying her feet before making her way to her room. She closed the door behind her, locking it shut before she began to unbutton her shirt. "Stupid spirits..." She muttered, grabbing her robe. She walked, half dressed to the bathroom and turned the faucet on-- high and hot to fill the tub. Next to come off was her skirt and underthings.

"So cold it burns... I bet mom and dad didn't have to deal with things like this." She grumbled, going over to her sink to pin her hair up.

It took her a moment to recognize herself staring back through the mirror. She had a nice bruise fully surfaced on her cheek from earlier in the day. Apparently one of the upperclassmen had taken an interest in her and his girlfriend hadn't liked that. The girls had jumped her just after school, and just as she thought she lost them, the yokai had found her and chased her into the woods.

Tentativly she raised her hand to lightly touch the mark, wincing at the sharp pain in her foot as she shifted her weight to lean closer to the mirror.

Then that strange lizard-man...

"Today sucked." She sighed heavily.

 

[Nami Hashimoto]

"How do I get in?" Kaze grumbled, standing before her house. Trailing the yard with large burrow-like streaks with his tail. "Which one is her room anyway?" He sniffs the air, trying to at least catch a whiff of her familiar scent before scrambling up the roof. He grabs onto the windows, making them creak slightly, as he tried to balance himself. Kaze focuses on Ayumi's scent and luckily spotted an open window nearby.

"Humans are such foolish creatures." He smirked then slipped inside what seemed to be the teenager's room.

He scans the area for a moment, trying to recall what the book of friends looked like.